Process for protecting ships from barnacles.



I G. DELIUS & c. P. T'ATRO.

PROCESS FOR PROTECTING SHIPS FROM BARNAOLBS.

'APPLIOATIOH FILED MAY 22, 1911.

1,021,734. I Patented Mar.26 ,1912.

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U I ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' GEORGE DELIUS AND CHARLES P. TATRO, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

raocn ss FOR rnorncrme snrrs FROM :BAnN'AoLEs.

, King and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes for Protecting Ships from Barnacles, of which the following is a specifica tion.

This invention relates to. seagoing vessels the hulls of which are either made of metal or sheathed with metal, and its object is to protect such vessels, which we will call ships,

from the accumulation of barnacles, which we do by providing means for electrochemically destroying the barnacles that may be attached to the ship, as often as may be desired,-either in port or on the open sea.

To this end our invention consists in the process-of protecting ships from barnacles, hereinafter more fully described, and particularly stated in' the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which represents the prow of a ship showlng one form of the application of our lnventlonl Let numeral 1 represent a portlon of a ships hull having a metallic surface; 2 a generator or other source of a direct current of electricity, and 3 and 4 its two poles. These two poles are connected respectively with the two arms of a switch 5. A .termi-. nal wire 6, is connected with the metallic surface of the ship. A terminal wire 7, is

' provided with a terminal 8, of electrochemi- Tcally insoluble material, such, for example, as carbon, located in contact with the open water adjacent to the ships surface but not in contact therewith. The switch 5, may be set to connect either of thewires 6 or 7 with either of the poles 3 or 4, whereby a positive current may be sent through the ships surface 1, and through the open water 9, to the terminal 8, and be returned by wire 7, to the negative side of the generator 2, or the current may he sent through terminal 8, and

open water 9, to the ships surface, and be returned by wire 6, and the switch as shown in dotted lines, to the negative side of the generator. v Ocean Water is a brine composed of various salts in' solution. The. barnacle 1s a. small shell fish having long tentacles whlch exude glutenous matter whereby they ad-- y v 'barnacles,compr1smg connectlng the termihere to almost anything solid under water,

inwhich. they live and which they inhale to Patented Mar. 26. 1912.

Application filed May 22, 1911. Serial No. 628,821.

to and fro through the metallic surface of a ship and the brine in contact with it sets up electrochemical action which converts the saline constituents of the brine into gaseous and saline elements which quickly kill'the barnacles and dissolve their gluten, leaving them to drop off from the ship. 4 This to and fro application of electric currents also stops the corrosive action of brine upon metals, cleans them from scale and leaves the shipls bottom smooth and bright. We

have not found it practicable or necessary to use a current of suflicient voltage to kill.

the barnacles by direct electric action. On the contrary, by locating the electric terminals as described, a moderate current of electricity will induce sufiici'ent chemical action in the brine to accomplish the results stated.

i For this reason, every metal bottomed seagoing vessel may carry the necessary equipment to clean itself from barnacles, andas the cleaning may be done eitherin port or when sailing slowly in mid ocean the cost of cleaning vessels by this process is extremely light in comparisonwith the cost by the old process of docking and scraping. It is further a source of economy because the cleaning can be done while the ship is loadingor unloading; and yet further, because a clean smooth bottom insures the best sailing ability of the ship.

We claim 1. The. process of protecting ships from I barnacles, comprising the connecting of the metallic surface of the ship with one pole of a source of direct current electricity; the 10- eating under water near to the said surface but not in contact therewith of an electrolytically insoluble terminal'and connecting .it with the other pole of said source of elec-- tricity; inter-posing in the two lines of electric connections-a reversing switch; sending an electriccurrent through the circuit of the said connections, and repeatedly shifting'the nately converted into positive and negative poles for electrochemlcal action.

2. The process of'proteeting .ships from .105 switch, whereby the two terminals are alter- I .n'al of-one pole of a source of direct current electricity w th the metallic surface of the ship; the locating of the terminal of the other ole in the water near the ship; sending a irect electric current through the said pole terminals and the ships metallic surface, the circuit being completed through the water around the ship, and reversing at intervals the direction of the electric current. 1

3. The process of protecting ships from barnacles, comprising the repeated" steps of sending a direct electric current into the metallic surface of the ship to return through an electric terminal immersed in the open being completed in each case through the open water between the ship and the immersed terminal.

4. The process of protecting ships from barnacles, which comprises the steps of sending a direct electric current to and fro at intervals through the metallic surface of the I ship and the adjacent Water.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE DELIUS. CHARLES P. TATRO. -Witnesses:

J. G. ALLAN, D. C. Slw'r'r 

